The nature of above-ground pool installation differs drastically from the laying of an in-ground pool. In particular, the deployment and placement of the pool sidewall is a tedious and difficult task which generally requires many hands.
Above-ground pool walls are conventionally delivered in a rolled up, coiled state. Since they are difficult to un-roll in the exact location needed, many installation teams simply unroll the coil for its entire length and then manhandle the wall into place. This obviously requires a large number of workers. Additionally, the thin nature of the pool wall also makes it vulnerable to dents and other damage.
Various attempts have been made to provide tools for handling rolled materials. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,046, issued in the name of Beyer, Sr., describes a reeling and unreeling apparatus for spools of material which is attachable to a vehicle hitch.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,504, issued in the name of Elder, describes a wire spool cart which provides rolling transportation for a plurality of spools.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,471, issued in the name of Albritton, describes a fence dispensing apparatus for installing fence wire along a line of fence posts.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such devices are not well adapted to sheet materials. Also, many such devices are not adapted for use along a non-paved surface. Furthermore, many such devices are not simple in construction and operation which contributes to increased time and expense to build and operate them. In addition, many such devices are not well adapted for use in installing above-ground pools. Accordingly, there exists a need for an above-ground pool wall installation apparatus without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.